The present disclosure provides, in certain embodiments, a system and method for generating a 3D model of a biopsy specimen. The 3D model may greatly enhance the capability to identify insufficient margins surrounding neoplastic tissue obtained through an excisional biopsy, and improve communication from a pathologist back to a surgeon and/or patient. The model provides a 3D representation of the neoplastic tissue within the specimen, thereby allowing the surgeon (or other medical personnel) to rotate and orient the model at any desired angle to identify insufficient margins and relate the location of the insufficient margins to the removal site to more accurately identify the location at which additional tissue needs to be excised. By identifying the exact location at which additional tissue needs to be excised, the surgeon is able to minimize the amount of additional tissue removed from the patient in order to achieve sufficient margins.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A system operable to generate a three-dimensional model of a biopsy specimen removed from a patient, the biopsy specimen including a first tissue comprising a non-neoplastic material and a second tissue comprising a neoplastic material, the system comprising: scanning circuitry operable to scan, and generate first coordinate data of, at least a portion of an outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen; first circuitry operable to generate second coordinate data from a plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen, wherein the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen are on one or more slides, wherein the second coordinate data defines an outer edge of the second tissue disposed within respective ones of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen, and wherein the scanning circuitry is operable to generate a scanned image of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen, wherein the first circuitry is further operable to generate the second coordinate data from at least the scanned image of the plurality of the slices of the removed biopsy; and rendering circuitry operable to generate the three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen from the first coordinate data and the second coordinate data, wherein the three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen includes a three-dimensional rendering of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen and a three-dimensional rendering of an outer boundary of the second tissue.
A system creates a 3D model of a biopsy specimen containing non-cancerous and cancerous tissue. Scanning circuitry captures coordinate data from the outer surface of the specimen. First circuitry generates coordinate data from images of multiple slices (on slides) of the specimen, defining the outer edge of the cancerous tissue within each slice. The first circuitry can generate this data from scanned images of the slices. Rendering circuitry then combines the surface data with the internal cancerous tissue data to generate a 3D model showing both the outer shape of the biopsy and the 3D shape of the cancerous tissue inside.
2. The system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen includes an indication of an orientation of the removed biopsy specimen, with respect to a site within the patient from which the biopsy specimen was removed.
The system from the previous 3D biopsy model description marks the outer surface of the biopsy specimen with an indicator showing its original orientation in the patient's body where it was removed.
3. The system as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the orientation of the removed biopsy specimen, with respect to the site within the patient from which the biopsy specimen was removed, may be associated with the first coordinate data.
The system from the description of the 3D biopsy model with orientation markings associates the orientation information with the coordinate data representing the outer surface of the biopsy specimen.
4. The system as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the generated three-dimensional model of the biopsy specimen indicates one or more regions corresponding to locations within the site within the patient from which the biopsy specimen was removed where additional tissue should be removed from the patient.
The system from the description of the 3D biopsy model with orientation markings indicates regions on the 3D model that correspond to areas within the patient where additional tissue should be removed during surgery.
5. The system as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the system is further operable to generate a three-dimensional model of the site from which the biopsy specimen was removed.
The system from the description of the 3D biopsy model with orientation markings also generates a 3D model of the site in the patient's body where the biopsy was taken.
6. The system as set forth in claim 5 , wherein the three-dimensional model of the site from which the biopsy specimen was removed is a model of the site in one of a pre-operative state or a post-operative state.
The system that creates both the 3D biopsy model with orientation markings and a 3D model of the surgical site can generate the surgical site model either before or after the biopsy is performed (pre-operative or post-operative).
7. The system as set forth in claim 2 , wherein an orientation of the second tissue disposed within the respective slice of the removed biopsy specimen may be associated with the second coordinate data.
The system from the description of the 3D biopsy model with orientation markings associates the orientation of the cancerous tissue within each slice with the coordinate data representing that tissue.
8. The system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the first circuitry uses input data that at least partially defines the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within the respective ones of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen.
The system from the original 3D biopsy model description uses data that helps define the outer edge of the cancerous tissue in each slice to generate the model.
9. The system as set forth in claim 8 , wherein the input data comprises at least one of user-defined input data and scanned image data.
The system that uses data to define the cancerous tissue edge utilizes either manual input from a user or data extracted from scanned images of the tissue slices, or both, to identify the boundaries.
10. The system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the rendering circuitry uses interpolation to generate the three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen.
The system from the original 3D biopsy model description uses interpolation techniques to create a smooth 3D model from the coordinate data of the biopsy specimen and cancerous tissue.
11. The system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein, for each respective slice, generating the second coordinate data from the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen comprises: generating a plurality of radial lines at intervals around a point of origin of the slice; and assigning coordinates to points at which the radial lines intersect the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within the slice of the removed biopsy specimen.
The system from the original 3D biopsy model description generates cancerous tissue coordinate data by drawing radial lines from a central point in each slice image and recording the coordinates where these lines intersect the edge of the cancerous tissue.
12. The system as set forth in claim 11 , wherein the point of origin is located approximately at a center point of the slice of the removed biopsy specimen.
In the system which generates radial lines for tissue coordinates, the origin point for generating the radial lines is approximately located at the center of the biopsy slice.
13. The system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the first and second coordinate data comprises three-dimensional coordinates.
In the original 3D biopsy model system, both the coordinate data for the outer surface of the biopsy specimen and the cancerous tissue are three-dimensional coordinates.
14. The system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein, for each respective slice, generating the second coordinate data from the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen comprises: measuring a distance between the outer edge of the slice of the removed biopsy specimen and the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within the slice of the removed biopsy specimen; and subtracting the measured distance from a coordinate of the first coordinate data to define a coordinate of the outer edge of the second tissue.
The system from the original 3D biopsy model description determines cancerous tissue coordinates by measuring the distance between the outer edge of the biopsy slice and the cancerous tissue edge, and then subtracting this distance from the outer edge's coordinate.
15. The system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the scanning circuitry is operable to perform a three-dimensional scan of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen.
The system from the original 3D biopsy model description uses scanning circuitry to perform a full three-dimensional scan of the biopsy specimen's outer surface.
16. The system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the generated three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen indicates one or more regions where a distance between the three-dimensional rendering of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen and the three-dimensional rendering of the outer boundary of the second tissue is less than a defined distance.
The system from the original 3D biopsy model description indicates regions on the 3D model where the distance between the outer surface of the biopsy and the cancerous tissue is less than a predefined minimum distance.
17. The system as set forth in claim 16 , wherein the system is operable to extend at least a portion of the three-dimensional rendering of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen at the indicated regions such that the distance between the three-dimensional rendering of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen and the three-dimensional rendering of the outer boundary of the second tissue is equal to or greater than the defined distance.
The system that flags regions with insufficient margin distances extends the 3D rendering of the outer surface in those flagged regions, increasing the distance between the biopsy surface and the cancerous tissue to meet or exceed the defined minimum distance.
18. A system operable to generate a three-dimensional model of a biopsy specimen on one or more slides and removed from a patient, the biopsy specimen including a first tissue comprising a non-neoplastic material and a second tissue comprising a neoplastic material, the system comprising: first circuitry operable to generate first coordinate data from a plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen on the one or more slides, wherein the first coordinate data is obtained from the removed biopsy specimen and defines at least a portion of outer edges of respective ones of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen; second circuitry operable to generate second coordinate data from the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen, wherein the second coordinate data is obtained from the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen and defines at least a portion of an outer edge of the second tissue disposed within respective ones of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen; and rendering circuitry operable to generate the three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen from the first coordinate data and from the second coordinate data obtained from the removed biopsy specimen, wherein the three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen includes: a three-dimensional rendering of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen generated using, at least partially, the first coordinate data, and a three-dimensional rendering of an outer boundary of the second tissue disposed within the removed biopsy specimen generated using, at least partially, the second coordinate data obtained from the removed biopsy specimen.
A system creates a 3D model of a sliced biopsy specimen containing non-cancerous and cancerous tissue. First circuitry gets coordinate data from the outer edges of the slices. Second circuitry extracts coordinate data defining the outer edge of the cancerous tissue in each slice. Rendering circuitry creates a 3D model of both the outer surface (using the first coordinate data) and the cancerous tissue boundary (using the second coordinate data).
19. The system as set forth in claim 18 , wherein an outer surface of respective ones of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen includes an indication of an orientation of the respective slice of the removed biopsy specimen, with respect to a site within the patient from which the biopsy specimen was removed.
The system from the previous 3D sliced biopsy model description includes an indicator on each slice that marks the slice's original orientation within the patient's body where it was removed.
20. The system as set forth in claim 19 , wherein the orientation of the respective slice of the removed biopsy specimen may be associated with the first coordinate data.
The system that generates a 3D model of the sliced biopsy and tracks orientation associates the slice orientation with the coordinate data representing the outer edge of the slice.
21. The system as set forth in claim 19 , wherein an orientation of the second tissue disposed within the respective slice of the removed biopsy specimen may be associated with the second coordinate data.
The system that generates a 3D model of the sliced biopsy and tracks orientation associates the orientation of the cancerous tissue within each slice with the coordinate data representing that tissue.
22. The system as set forth in claim 21 , wherein an orientation of the removed biopsy specimen, with respect to the site within the patient from which the biopsy specimen was removed, may be associated with at least one of the first and second coordinate data.
The system that generates a 3D model of the sliced biopsy and tracks orientation associates the overall orientation of the biopsy with at least one of: coordinate data from the slice outer edges or coordinate data from the cancerous tissue.
23. The system as set forth in claim 19 , wherein the generated three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen indicates one or more regions corresponding to locations within the site within the patient from which the biopsy specimen was removed where additional tissue should be removed from the patient.
The system that generates a 3D model of the sliced biopsy and tracks orientation indicates regions on the 3D model corresponding to locations in the patient where additional tissue should be removed during surgery.
24. The system as set forth in claim 18 , further comprising scanning circuitry operable to scan the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen and to generate scanned image data.
The system from the 3D model of the sliced biopsy description includes scanning circuitry that scans the biopsy slices and generates image data.
25. The system as set forth in claim 18 , wherein at least one of the first and second circuitry are operable to analyze the scanned image data to generate the respective first and second coordinate data.
In the system that scans the slices, at least one of the circuitries generating the outer edge or cancerous tissue coordinates uses the scanned image data to generate these coordinates.
26. The system as set forth in claim 18 , wherein at least one of the first circuitry and the second circuitry generate the respective first or second coordinate data at least partially from at least one of user-defined input data and scanned image data.
In the system that generates slice outer edge and cancerous tissue coordinates, the circuitry can use manual user input and/or scanned image data to generate the coordinate data.
27. A method for generating a three-dimensional model of a biopsy specimen on one or more slides and removed from a patient, the biopsy specimen including at least a first tissue comprising a non-neoplastic material and a second tissue comprising a neoplastic material, the method comprising: scanning at least two of a plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen on the one or more slides; generating first coordinates of an outer edge of the removed biopsy specimen for at least two of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen; generating second coordinates of an outer edge of the second tissue disposed within one or more of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen; and generating a three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen using, at least partially, the first generated coordinates of the outer edge of the removed biopsy specimen for at least two of the plurality of slices, and the generated second coordinates of the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within one or more of the plurality of slices, wherein the three-dimensional model includes at least one of: a three-dimensional rendering of an outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen using, at least partially, the generated first coordinates of the outer edge of the removed biopsy specimen of at least two of the plurality of slices, and a three-dimensional rendering of an outer surface of the second tissue disposed within the removed biopsy specimen using, at least partially, the generated second coordinates of the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within one or more of the plurality of slices.
A method creates a 3D model of a sliced biopsy specimen containing non-cancerous and cancerous tissue. The method scans multiple slices and generates coordinates representing the outer edge of each slice. It also generates coordinates defining the outer edge of the cancerous tissue in one or more slices. Using both sets of coordinates, the method generates a 3D model that includes at least one of: a rendering of the biopsy's outer surface and a rendering of the cancerous tissue's outer surface.
28. The method as set forth in claim 27 , wherein an outer surface of respective ones of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen includes an indication of an orientation of the respective slice of the removed biopsy specimen, with respect to a site within the patient from which the biopsy specimen was removed.
The method from the previous 3D sliced biopsy model description marks the outer surface of each slice with an indicator showing its original orientation in the patient's body where it was removed.
29. The method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein the orientation of the respective slices of the removed biopsy specimen may be associated with the first coordinates of the outer edge of the removed biopsy specimen.
The method that generates the 3D model of the sliced biopsy and tracks slice orientation associates the slice orientation with the coordinates of the outer edge of the slice.
30. The method as set forth in claim 28 , wherein an orientation of the second tissue disposed within the respective slice of the removed biopsy specimen may be associated with the second coordinates of the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within the respective slice of the removed biopsy specimen.
The method that generates the 3D model of the sliced biopsy and tracks slice orientation associates the orientation of the cancerous tissue within each slice with the coordinates of the outer edge of that tissue.
31. The method as set forth in claim 28 , further comprising indicating, via the three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen, one or more regions corresponding to locations within the site within the patient from which the biopsy specimen was removed where additional tissue should be removed from the patient.
The method that generates a 3D model of the sliced biopsy and tracks orientation shows regions on the 3D model that correspond to locations in the patient where additional tissue should be removed during surgery.
32. The method as set forth in claim 27 , further comprising performing a three-dimensional scan of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen.
The method to generate a 3D model of a sliced biopsy also performs a three-dimensional scan of the outer surface of the entire biopsy specimen before slicing.
33. The method as set forth in claim 32 , wherein the coordinates of the outer edge of the removed biopsy specimen for at least two of the plurality of slices are generated by the three-dimensional scan of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen.
The method that scans the whole biopsy specimen uses the data from the 3D scan to generate coordinates for the outer edge of the biopsy slices.
34. The method as set forth in claim 27 , wherein, for each respective slice, generating coordinates of the outer edge of the removed biopsy specimen for at least two of the plurality of slices comprises: generating a plurality of radial lines at intervals around a point of origin of the slice; and assigning coordinates to points at which the radial lines intersect the outer edge of the slice.
The method for generating the slice outer edge coordinates draws radial lines from a central point in each slice and records the coordinates where the lines intersect the slice's edge.
35. The method as set forth in claim 27 , wherein, for each respective slice, generating coordinates of the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within at least two of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen comprises: generating a plurality of radial lines at intervals around a point of origin of the slice; and assigning coordinates to points at which the radial lines intersect the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within the slice.
The method for generating the cancerous tissue coordinates draws radial lines from a central point in each slice and records the coordinates where the lines intersect the edge of the cancerous tissue.
36. The method as set forth in claim 27 , wherein, for each respective slice, generating coordinates of the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within at least two of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen comprises: measuring a distance between the outer edge of the slice and the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within the slice; and subtracting the measured distance from a coordinate of the outer edge of the slice to define a coordinate of the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within the slice.
The method for generating cancerous tissue coordinates measures the distance between the outer edge of the slice and the edge of the cancerous tissue. It then subtracts this distance from the slice outer edge's coordinates to define the coordinates of the cancerous tissue.
37. The method as set forth in claim 27 , wherein, for each respective slice, generating coordinates of the outer edge of the removed biopsy specimen for at least two of the plurality of slices comprises: dividing the slice into two or more sections; and generating coordinates of the outer edge of the slice from the sections of the slice.
The method for generating the slice outer edge coordinates divides each slice into sections and generates coordinates of the edge from those sections.
38. The method as set forth in claim 27 , wherein, for each respective slice, generating coordinates of the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within at least two of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen comprises: dividing the slice into two or more sections; and generating coordinates of the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within the slice from the sections of the slice.
The method for generating the cancerous tissue coordinates divides each slice into sections and generates coordinates of the edge from those sections.
39. The method as set forth in claim 27 , wherein at least one of generating coordinates of the outer edge of the removed biopsy specimen for at least two of the plurality of slices, and generating coordinates of the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within at least two of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen, includes using image recognition circuitry.
At least one of the processes in the method for generating slice and cancerous tissue coordinates, uses image recognition circuitry.
40. The method as set forth in claim 27 , further comprising indicating, via the three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen, one or more regions where a distance between the three-dimensional rendering of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen and the three-dimensional rendering of the outer surface of the second tissue disposed within the removed biopsy specimen is less than a defined distance.
The method generating a 3D biopsy model indicates regions on the 3D model where the distance between the outer surface of the biopsy and the outer surface of the cancerous tissue is less than a defined distance.
41. The method as set forth in claim 40 , further comprising modifying the three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen to extend the three-dimensional rendering of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen at the indicated regions such that the distance between the three-dimensional rendering of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen and the three-dimensional rendering of the outer surface of the second tissue disposed within the removed biopsy specimen is equal to or greater than the defined distance.
The method that flags regions with insufficient margin distances extends the 3D rendering of the biopsy's outer surface in those flagged regions, increasing the distance between the biopsy surface and the cancerous tissue to meet or exceed the defined minimum distance.
42. A system operable to generate a three-dimensional model of a biopsy specimen removed from a patient and sliced into a plurality of slices on slides, the biopsy specimen including a first tissue comprising a non-neoplastic material and a second tissue comprising a neoplastic material, the system comprising: scanning circuitry configured to perform a three-dimensional scan of at least a portion of an outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen, and to generate three-dimensional coordinate data of the at least a portion of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen; first circuitry configured to generate two-dimensional coordinate data from plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen on the slides, wherein the two-dimensional coordinate data defines an outer edge of the second tissue disposed within respective ones of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen; and rendering circuitry operable to correlate the three-dimensional coordinate data with the two-dimensional coordinate data to generate the three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen, wherein the three-dimensional model of the removed biopsy specimen includes: a three-dimensional rendering of the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen, and a three-dimensional rendering of an outer boundary of the second tissue.
A system creates a 3D model of a sliced biopsy specimen containing non-cancerous and cancerous tissue. Scanning circuitry does a 3D scan of the biopsy’s outer surface and generates coordinate data. First circuitry generates 2D coordinate data from images of the specimen's slices, defining the outer edge of the cancerous tissue within each slice. Rendering circuitry combines the 3D surface data with the 2D cancerous tissue data to generate a 3D model showing both the outer shape of the biopsy and the 3D shape of the cancerous tissue inside.
43. The system as set forth in claim 42 , wherein the outer surface of the removed biopsy specimen includes an indication of an orientation of the removed biopsy specimen, with respect to a site within the patient from which the biopsy specimen was removed.
The system from the previous 3D biopsy model description marks the outer surface of the biopsy specimen with an indicator showing its original orientation in the patient's body where it was removed.
44. The system as set forth in claim 43 , wherein the orientation of the removed biopsy specimen, with respect to a site within the patient from which the biopsy specimen was removed, may be associated with the three-dimensional coordinate data.
The system that generates a 3D model of the sliced biopsy and tracks orientation associates the overall orientation of the biopsy with the three-dimensional coordinate data representing the outer surface of the biopsy.
45. The system as set forth in claim 43 , wherein an orientation of the second tissue disposed within the respective slice of the removed biopsy specimen may be associated with the two-dimensional coordinate data.
The system that generates a 3D model of the sliced biopsy and tracks orientation associates the orientation of the cancerous tissue within each slice with the two-dimensional coordinate data representing that tissue.
46. The system as set forth in claim 43 , wherein the generated three-dimensional model of the biopsy specimen indicates one or more regions corresponding to locations within the site within the patient from which the biopsy specimen was removed where additional tissue should be removed from the patient.
The system that generates a 3D model of the sliced biopsy and tracks orientation indicates regions on the 3D model corresponding to locations in the patient where additional tissue should be removed during surgery.
47. The system as set forth in claim 43 , wherein the first circuitry uses input data that at least partially defines the outer edge of the second tissue disposed within the respective ones of the plurality of slices of the removed biopsy specimen.
The system from the 3D model of the sliced biopsy description uses data that helps define the outer edge of the cancerous tissue in each slice to generate the model.
48. The system as set forth in claim 47 , wherein the input data comprises at least one of user-defined input data and scanned image data.
The system that uses data to define the cancerous tissue edge utilizes either manual input from a user or data extracted from scanned images of the tissue slices, or both, to identify the boundaries.
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June 8, 2015
June 6, 2017
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